E30 M3 Steel Bodywork Conversion

[bmwmech1]

i think the best part is that it will all be covered up... it will be the ultimate sleeper!!! sure it would be nice to show off, but its your car! your the only one who will ever know exactly how much went into it and what you did where... thats all that matters. ;)

Yeah, I kinda agree with you... the cool factor will be what's there, but can't be seen. I wasn't doing the cage in a street car so it would look cool, but it will look cool with the rear downtubes disappearing into the headliner

Garey

[Gobig_us]

Excuse my ignorance but why are you widening the lip for the window's? Is it because your replacing the glass with lexan or ?

[bmwmech1]

Excuse my ignorance but why are you widening the lip for the window's? Is it because your replacing the glass with lexan or ?

It's a legitimate question... the regular E30's had the windshield held in with a rubber seal, pinched between the glass and the lip and a plastic trim which expanded the rubber to hold everything in place. The E30 M3 had the front and rear glass bonded to the car, like most all modern cars do. The standard E30 lip around the opening is roughly .5" wide, which is not wide enough to bond a windshield to, which is why I'm widening it, basically doubling the width...

Garey

[drutt23]

Thanks man... I was reading Justin B's thread earlier today and saw a post you put up on his. It's looking pretty sweet, too! Even though it'll all get covered up, I still have the pictures, right? It should be nice when it's done... I'm getting close to being done with the fabrication, which means it's on to primer soon... yea! I just might make it to Bimmerfest!

Garey

Yes indeed! I give you guys huge props for taking the time and motivation to build something like this. It's actually helping my motivation to do more work to my car. LOL! True about the pictures too! And you'll always know what's under there no matter how much is showing.

i think the best part is that it will all be covered up... it will be the ultimate sleeper!!! sure it would be nice to show off, but its your car! your the only one who will ever know exactly how much went into it and what you did where... thats all that matters. ;)

+10

[e30s50dan]

What color are going with?

[bmwmech1]

What color are going with?

Alpine...

Garey

[bmwmech1]

POR-15'ed!!!







I got the entire underside 1st coated tonight... Killed a bunch of brain cells, but I'm stoked! I'm now almost completely done with the fabrication and even had the dash in it for a little while today. No mods are necessary to the dash, the A-pillar tubes go right down past the dash and don't touch it. I needed to test fit the dash to determine the bends for the dash bar, since I want a functional glovebox. I should get the rest of the fab wrapped up in the next few days and I'll start seam sealing tomorrow. Once that's done, it's on to Schutzing and then primer and paint!

Garey

[Slangbox]

Once that's done, it's on to Schutzing and then primer and paint!

Garey

You've used this word multiple times. What is the meaning of this word? I've tried scouring the interwebs and I've consulted the almighty Google define:, but they have told me naught.

[bmwmech1]

You've used this word multiple times. What is the meaning of this word? I've tried scouring the interwebs and I've consulted the almighty Google define:, but they have told me naught.

It's the brand/type of undercoating I use. It's made by 3M and it's called Rocker Schutz. I don't know if it's specifically what BMW uses at the factory, but the finish is identical to the textured undercoating found on BMW's and many other makes, when applied properly. Check out the "Minor Rust Repair" thread by member xworks on this forum... it gives an up close look at the material and the application gun and some shots of the results.... or you can wait for pictures of mine, shouldn't be too long now before I do it.

Garey

[freeride53]

Magnificent

[bmwmech1]

Magnificent

Thanks man... it gets better, check out the next post...

Garey

[bmwmech1]

Every surface that I primed last night with POR-15, got seam sealed today. That puts me one step closer to Schutzing, which is fast approaching. Here's a couple of pics...







All of the lighter areas are 3M seam sealer and if you look at the symmetry, there are spots that look out of place. Those are the areas where I replaced rusted metal with new metal or filled holes that weren't needed for my build...

Garey

[Slangbox]

It's the brand/type of undercoating I use. It's made by 3M and it's called Rocker Schutz. I don't know if it's specifically what BMW uses at the factory, but the finish is identical to the textured undercoating found on BMW's and many other makes, when applied properly. Check out the "Minor Rust Repair" thread by member xworks on this forum... it gives an up close look at the material and the application gun and some shots of the results.... or you can wait for pictures of mine, shouldn't be too long now before I do it.

Garey

Thank you. And PLEASE keep up the great work. I'm anxious to see the final product. It's going to be fantastic.

[bmwmech1]

So I keep checking off items on my punch list and it keeps getting smaller, so I guess I'm making positive headway. I finished the passenger A-pillar tonight and got the dash bar bent up and welded in, so that's 2 fewer items I have left to do before I can POR-15 the inside...

Close up of the A-pillar/dashboard fitment...



Couple more from the outside looking in...





From the inside... look close and you can see the dash bar behind the dash. It appears the dash mount bracket on the left of the steering column is in need of some tweaking... it's pushing up the left side of the dash a little too much. Easy fix, first time I've looked at it from this angle...



My goal is to be wrapped up with the interior fab by the weekend...

Garey

[RainierHooker]

The car looks great and I can't wait for this thing to get off the rotisserie...

You've used this word multiple times. What is the meaning of this word? I've tried scouring the interwebs and I've consulted the almighty Google define:, but they have told me naught.

Schutzen = verb for "to protect"

Schutz = noun for "protection"

For instance, in German safety glasses are "Schutzbrille", or "protection glasses"